Knights tag Minutemen

Tuesday

Apr 23, 2013 at 1:37 AMApr 23, 2013 at 1:40 AM

HOIC softball from Monday

Erich Murphy

A young team and a veteran team meet up in a softball contest. Chances are the veteran club will win out, especially when that team has a four-year starter in the circle. Such was the case Monday as Fieldcrest overwhelmed Lexington 15-1 in a Heart of Illinois Conference softball game at Keller Park. “Our whole thought process right now is you think big, you act big and you play big,” first-year FHS head coach Laurie Lorton said after the win. “We’re pretty solid.” The Knights were able to take advantage of some errors and hit Lexington hurlers Kelly Carmack and Ashland Eckhart well enough to leave no doubt about the outcome after the second inning. “We can hit the ball well,” Lorton said. “It took us about two innings and then we hit the ball like we should hit the ball.” Carmack set the Knights down in order in the first inning but a throwing error allowed Madison Tjaden to reach to open the second. Jaclyn Kalkwarf then singled. A sacrifice fly and a groundout got the runs home as Fieldcrest took a 2-0 lead. The big hit of the second was Alysa White’s triple. She scored the final run in a five-run frame. Carmack was victimized by four errors in the inning while giving up no earned runs. Still, she trailed 5-0. Carmack yielded another unearned run in the third as Madison Tjaden reached on an error and eventually scored, making it 6-1. Fieldcrest was doing what veteran teams do — make the other team pay for mistakes. The Knights added to their advantage in the fourth inning in grand style. White led off the fourth inning with a line drive single to center. A sacrifice from Haley Ruestman moved White to second and FHS followed with singles from Taylor Tjaden, Madison Tjaden and Kalkwarf loaded the bases. Freshman Alexis White then unloaded with a shot over the fence in left field for a grand slam. That made it 11-1and ended Carmack’s day in the circle. Eckhart came on and got a fly out before walking two and giving up a double. The inning ended when Alysa White was thrown out trying to stretch her two-base hit into a triple. What may be lost on fans is the age of the Knights. Fieldcrest’s club has just two seniors and seven upperclassmen. One of those seniors is Tiffany Lindsay, who has been a starter in the circle since her freshman campaign. Lindsay was in control despite giving up some well-hit balls. She struck out eight and walked one. The Minutemen touched Lindsay for a run in the second inning when that one walk came back to bite the FHS ace. Hope Armstrong drew the free pass and scored on Eckhart’s two-base hit down the left field line. She was out trying to make it to third base. Lexington’s other base hit was a sharp, one-out two-bagger from Kailey Johnson in the fourth inning. Lindsay got out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts. Lexington’s youth is being hindered by not being able to play. This was only the sixth game for the Minutemen, who have missed more than twice that many because of the weather. “We had some good hits but we made some errors,” LHS head coach Christina Frederickson said. “We got a lot of young players hitting the ball. We’re just looking to get into a rhythm.” The White sisters led the Fieldcrest offense by combining to hit for the cycle. Alexis White had a homer and two singles and Alysa White tripled, doubled and singled. Taylor Tjaden also had three hits while Kalkwarf singled twice. Madison Tjaden, Natalie Fortner, Taylor Sullivan and Melissa Coons had one hit each. Johnson and Eckhart had Lexington’s base hits. Carmack gave up 11 runs (5 earned) on 11 hits in 3 1-3 innings. She did not walk or strikeout a batter. Eckhart yielded four runs on four hits and two walks. She fanned one in 1 2-3 innings.